NEW BLOOD
by Avenger of the fallen
Summary: Two young teens open the Packs eyes to a whole new world of werewolves. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BELONGING TO THE OTHERWORLD SERIES._**

 ** _THEY ARE SOLELY PROPERTY OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR: KELLEY ARMSTRONG_**

"Crafted by the most powerful of all smith-masters of all time, the forgotten blade lay blanketed in a cloak of dust and cobwebs. Scattered across the four winds, time echoed the battles of the lands rich history from betrayals and brutal beginnings to bloodied endings as the people of the world soon forgot what the Earth would forever remember."

Slowly, the young Literature instructor lowered the book he was reading to raise his eyes to the group of students that were present in the theatre. Dark, fathomless eyes stared out at the assembled teens while he wordlessly bookmarked his place and set the book down on the polished black pulpit. It slid, the protective plastic cover smoothly slipping down the lacquered surface until it came to a stop at the high-lipped edge of the wooden structure.

He stood, feet apart, surveyed the room as he methodically picked the ones who'd been paying attention from the ones who were not. A shadow of a smirk graced his face as he took a sip from the water glass on the small table to his left before he spoke. His searching gaze fell on two of his students that were notorious for falling asleep during lectures. "Caleb, tell me what the author meant from the phrase '...blanketed in a cloak of dust...'?"

"Seventeen..." The young blonde haired boy yawned as the class giggled.

"Nice to know you're paying attention, Caleb. Rodney?"

"Huh?" Rodney pulled his ear buds out. "You say somethin', Teach?"

Another giggle rose up from the teens surrounding classmates. The young teacher pressed his finger and thumb against the bridge of his nose.

"Apparently, you were absent the day that the Gods were giving out extended attention spans." He scanned the crowd and settled on one of the quieter students. Not that she was shy. No. It was merely her personality that gave people a false sense of power over the young woman. "Mana, please, enlighten the rest of the class as to what the author meant by the phrase I quoted earlier."

Mana blinked as she recalled the line that the teacher was talking about. Her shoulder length red-black hair was loose today - not really a style she liked for herself, but given the fact that her twin brother had hidden all her elastics, it was one she had to go with for now. She leveled a look so innocent at the teacher that he almost believed she was as pure as the new-fallen snow. "The author was using a metaphorical personification to give life to a lifeless object. For instance, in talking about the sword, they are giving an image of something that is sleeping and covered in a blanket."

"L'Elliot?"

Darker skinned than his sister, the young man raised his head off of his arm and sighed. "He was trying to paint a visual of the scene for his readers' enjoyment."

"Oh good, you actually were paying attention."

Acting on the teachers' sarcasm, L'Elliot placed a hand over his heart, "Mr. Paxton, you wound me. I only sleep through the boring lectures."

"Very good, I shall endeavor to remember that for future classes." The teacher smirked again. "Vance, use of a personal digital assistant or any other form of wireless tech is not permitted. You may find that Mrs. Hall in room 306 would be more than happy to accommodate your technological fix for the day."

After the roar of laughter calmed to a chuckle, he spoke again. "For tonight's homework, read any poem of your choosing and, in detail - and in your own words - tell me what you think the writer was trying to convey. Class dismissed." The bell rang shrilly in the hall, signaling the end of yet another day for the students. The public announcement system crackled ominously as the secretaries voice called over the loud hustle and bustle of the halls.

"Mana-Fay and L'Elliot Saint-Jean please report to Dean Anderson's office."

The twins turned to face each other and nodded. As they shared a locker, it was easy for them to hide a second backpack each inside the tiny metal box. Mana brushed her hair back from her face and scowled as she hoisted the bag that contained the scant belongings that she absolutely could not live without onto her back.

"I guess no time like the present?"

"Yeah, no kidding," her brother replied softly. "I guess it's time to find out what the higher-ups got to say."

"What can they say that we haven't already heard from someone else?" L'Elliot asked as he grabbed his own travel pack. "At least now we have an address to Great-Uncle Jason."

"Just in case," his sister whispered in a voice so low that only his suped-up hearing gave any indication that she'd even said anything. "Be ready to bolt."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Clayton smirked at his best friend as the other man leaned back a little too far in his chair causing him to tumble backwards onto the oak-wood deck. "Told you not to rock back like that." His lilting Southern accent held a taunting undertone.

Nick groaned as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand while he flipped off the tall blonde man with the other. "Don't even go there, asshole."

"Naw, man, I'm not that childish." Clayton replied as he held out his hand to help his friend up. As he reached down, a slight movement at the tree line caught his eye. A flash of white stood out against the dense darkness of the forest that surrounded the land where Stone Haven stood. Might be an animal, he thought absently. The Gods knew that the woods were teeming with wild creatures of every size from a field mouse to a deer.

As Nick stood, Antonio slipped out of the sliding veranda doors and stood with them. "Just got a call from Jer, he and Elena are running late because of traffic." His dark eyes scanned the tree line of the wilderness. "Something is out there."

Clayton nodded. As the men stood, still thinking about what it could be, a large grey wolf staggered out of the darkness. Nick jumped the rail at the same time as Clayton as both of them took off at a run towards the wolf as Tonio speedily dialed Jeremy.

A mixed look of pain and relief showed in the wolf's eyes as the two younger men skidded to a stop a few feet from him. One heavy breath later and the grey wolf collapsed where he stood. Shock and fear were a shared look between the friends as they cautiously approached the fallen creature.

"Werewolf." Nick whispered as he ran his hands through the grey fur. "An older one though."

"I didn't think there were any older ones left around here." Clay said softly as he checked for wounds. "No physical-"

His words were cut off as an arrow narrowly missed his foot. The grey wolf huffed deeply as he underwent the Change. Nick peeled off his jacket and covered the man who was now lying where the wolf was to offer him a measure of modesty while in human form. The older man, they noticed, had salt and pepper hair and a muscular body that was home to multiple scars, both old and new. His breathing was slightly ragged as he tried to move into a sitting position.

"D-don't..."

"Don't what?" Tonio, who had just arrived, crouched down and took the older man by the hand. The older man clung desperately to the younger ones wrist.

"The little ones... protect the..." Suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head until only the whites showed as the last breath in his body was expelled. Antonio closed his eyes as he gently released the man's hand and closed the lids of the now dead mans eyes.

He bit his lip and reached over to retrieve the arrow from the ground. "It was in deep, so more than likely one of the man's "little ones" is close by."

From the driveway a squeal of tires alerted the three men to the arrival of their other two members. Elena ran over to them, stopping short of the man who lay dead on the ground at their feet. "Cause of death?"

Clayton wrapped his arms around his mates waist and laid his chin on her slender shoulder. "No visible signs of any recent fights, and all we got out of him was to 'protect the little ones'." he replied as Jeremy checked over the man once more before taking the arrow from Tonio's outstretched fist.

"Hand made, but sturdy." He half turned, scanning the ever darkening forest as the cool Autumn evening settled over the land. "If there is anyone out there, they might try to recover the body tonight under the cover of darkness."

He gingerly rose to his feet as he issued orders for Nick and Clay to get a few blankets in order to create a makeshift gurney so they could take the man back to the house.

After laying the man to his eternal rest in the caged room of the basement, Jeremy, Clayton and Elena said goodnight to their friends as the other two left the house for their own home at the Sorrentino manor. Jeremy turned to the other occupants of the house as the taillights of Nick's jeep faded into the night.

"Leave the doors unlocked and allow a clear path to the basement with the cage door open. I want to see if whoever was with the poor man is bold enough to come try to take his body."

Elena nodded thoughtfully, "and if they're not?"

"Then I hope we can find them before anyone else does." After one last look out at the darker part of the forest, Jeremy shut the door and turned his back to the night outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 _We are alone yet again, my dear sister._ L'Elliot's hands flashed quickly as he signed to his sister who was watching the forest from her perch on the branch next to him.

She sighed as she fingered the horsehair string that was attached to her hand crafted bow that her Great Uncle had gifted her with. The people that he'd gone to for help had taken his body when Jason had collapsed from age.

The bow had been his final gift to them along with a warning. "If the pack accepts you both, you will have found your place in our society."

As long as they could remember, both twins had been running from people who would use them like common science experiments. Poking and prodding would become their daily norm. Their father had nearly suffered that fate when he'd accidentally led someone he thought he could trust to his family home on the outskirts of the Labrador province. Their mother had not been lucky enough to escape the blaze of the fire that stole their youthful innocence about the world from them at the tender age of ten years old.

Eventually, as they made their way West to Manitoba, they had run into lone wolf after lone wolf who wanted to fight their father for rights to the children he had with him. They'd succeeded in getting just past the United States borders at the age of fifteen when yet another tragedy struck. Their beloved father came down with a virus that he couldn't seem to shake off. With strength enough left to give them their essential monetary needs and the names of a few trusted family members who could help them find a safe place to grow, he took his last breath.

Mana shuddered as the chill of the night wind lashed at her thin windbreaker. Wordlessly, her twin shrugged off his jacket and held it out to her. Knowing that his body temperature would take longer to go down, she gratefully accepted the coat and put it on.

"We have to do something, L." Her voice trailed off as a sudden wave of heat washed over her body.

L'Elliot turned a sceptical eye to his sister, but doubt soon turned to shock as he realized that she'd been under a lot of undue stress since they'd left their last school. "Oh, shit." He whispered as understanding dawned on him. Just as she started to fall, he pulled her close and felt her head.

"Damn, Mana, you're burning up, sissy." He scowled as he realized what that would mean for him. Without his sister's tag-team help, he would have no choice but to beg the pack for help. _Please don't turn us away…_

His thoughts were running rampant in his mind, but one was far above the others as he leapt gently down to the ground from the huge tree: he _had_ to get his sister to safety and soon.

Just as he settled down for the night in his study to wait the possible break-in that was to come, Jeremy lifted the cup of hot tea to his lips and paused as a new scent filled the main hall of the house. Clay and Elena were upstairs so that meant that the intruder they'd been waiting on had made their entrance.

As he left the warmth of the study, he met both of the others in the hall. All three made their way to the main hall, but there was no one there that they could see.

"I know I heard someone." Clay said with a scowl as he darted over to the kitchen area to check there. Elena started double checking the other rooms while Jeremy decided to check outside.

As he flicked on the light, he looked down to see a wolf standing over a young girl. One paw was pressed just over the girl's heart as though the creature was checking her heartbeat. Its nose nudged her cheek gently as he licked her forehead and whined softly.

"Clayton. Elena." Jeremy called out to his foster son and his mate as he opened the door and cautiously moved closer to the two on the ground. The others followed him out, mimicking his movements as he crept closer to the pair. He held out his hand to the wolf, hopeful that his suspicions were right.

The wolf looked up from the girl and whined again as he lifted the paw on her chest and dropped it down again. Intelligent slate blue eyes set in dark red-tinged black fur stared hopefully out at the Alpha of the pack. Jeremy nodded once. His hand went to the girls head and a look of fierce dismay and shock flashed on his face.

"Elena, help me get her inside."

"Jer, what's going on?"

"He's protecting her, Clayton."

"Still in the dark here."

"She's Changing." A collective silence washed over the group before the other two finally jumped into action. Relief echoed in the wolf's eyes as he turned in a circle on the porch.

They were helping!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Daring to hope beyond hope, he hopped up on Clayton and ran towards on of the two vehicles in the driveway before darting back to the blonde man who wore a comical look of confusion on his face. "Hey, Jeremy, he wants us to follow him somewhere."

"You and Elena go with him. There might be something important he wants to show us."

Elena ran out, keys in hand and unlocked the Rover. As she opened the door the wolf jumped into the vehicle and into the back seat. She stared in wonder at the wolf as he sat patiently next to the window.

"Okay," she said slowly. "I guess you're going to let us know when to turn and all that good stuff, huh?"

He huffed in response.

"I guess so." She climbed into the passenger side as Clay hopped up into the driver's side and started the engine. As they neared the highway, the wolf started to get restless in the back. Clayton pulled over and let him out.

The wolf bolted towards a hidden trail and waited for the two to follow. After locking up the Rover, they followed him into the darkened trail that went in about a half mile before coming to a stop at a small cabin. Jumping up, the wolf caught a rope that was hanging down in between his teeth and gave it a hard tug. The door swung open revealing a small, yet surprisingly comfortable interior. Clayton edged in to check out the place while Elena took a quick walk around the edge of the cabin.

"There's no sign that there were any more than three living here at one time." She advised as she walked in and closed the door behind herself. "Hey, where'd our little friend go?"

"Here." A male voice whispered as a young boy in his mid-teens stepped from the shadows of a back room as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Sorry, I wanted to get dressed first and grab some stuff for my sister."

Clayton scratched at his chin. "Why lead us here then?"

"For this," the teen held up a book that had seen better days. "Our family history is all in here."

"Why?" Elena asked as she accepted the book.

"Honestly, I have no reason to trust you and you have no real reason to keep me alive. I'm on your territory and I'm currently alone without any backing from any Elders." He moved quickly, grabbing various things and shoving them into separate back packs. "As collateral, I left my very sick twin sister in the care of what I assumed to be your Alpha before I took you here. I, for one, have everything to lose in this gamble."

Clayton let out a low whistle as he noted that the boy was only packing essentials into the bags. "What makes you think that he was the Alpha?"

"I'm young, not stupid." The teen shot over his shoulder as he tied the bags shut. "Oh yeah, how forgetful am I, huh? My name's L'Elliot Saint-Jean."

Elena stepped towards him and was dually surprised when he backed away from her. "Trust issues?"

"You have no idea." L'Elliot breathed as he scanned his surroundings to ensure that he'd grabbed everything they would need. "Okay, I got everything."

As Jeremy tended the girl he listened to her senseless babble. One name kept coming out more clearly than anything else which he took as a sign that it belonged to the wolf that'd left her with him.

He tipped his head to the side as he listened to the sound of tires on gravel that signalled the return of his two Pack mates. The girl coughed in her sleep, drawing his attention back to the task at hand as a door opened and closed downstairs.

Footsteps on the stairs alerted him to the fact that Clay was behind him, but another scent drifted on the air. He turned and stood, coming face to face with a young boy whose skin was a few shades darker than the girl's.

Vibrant slate blue eyes held regret and worry as the teen dropped his pack to the floor and went to the girl's bedside. "I'm so sorry, Mana. I should have realized before that you were going to Change too."

Astounded, Jeremy watched as the boy gently pushed back the damp hair from the young girls face. "What exactly are you to her?"

"I'm her twin brother." The boy whispered as he rested his head against Mana's shoulder. "I relied on her way too much and it took a bad toll on her."

"So, I'm going to assume that you must be L'Elliot?" Jeremy asked softly. The teen nodded before he yawned loudly. "Tired?"

"Exhausted, actually," he yawned again as he stretched backwards. "I can handle it if she goes wolf so I'm just going to crash in here in that's okay with you."

Jeremy and Clayton shared a knowing look and silently left the room as L'Elliot curled up beside his sister on the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"He didn't tell us much, but before he came up here he performed some kind of funeral rite over the body downstairs." Elena said softly. "He asked if we would allow them to cremate their uncle."

Jeremy turned questioning dark eyes to her as she reiterated the boy's words. "What?"

"The man that died was their great-uncle Jason McCormick. According to this," she held out the worn book that L'Elliot had handed over earlier. "He was their last Elder and also acted as their Record Keeper."

Jeremy took the book and carefully examined the cover. The patchwork leather and twine binding smelled of ash and pine. Turning to Clayton, he asked the blonde man to stand guard over the two teenagers in the room as he and Elena went to his study to look at the book.

Clearing an area of his desk, he sat down and opened the large book. Crisp parchment pages that were yellowed by time held an extensive and detailed list of names on every page. From the births to the deaths of every male and female the family had ever witnessed. There were pages detailing the complete record of every person; pages that detailed Rites of Passage and other such milestones in each phase of life.

And, sorrowfully enough, an entire five pages devoted to those who did not make it through the Change - incompletely or completely.

Particularly, on the odd occasion, the book detailed the fact the family consistently bore twins every third generation. Usually it would be two males that would be born, but, unexpectedly, it was the amount of females that were born to the family that was a little more than shocking.

"It looks like every third generation bore two male twin children and every fourth bore a female and a male set." Elena said as she scanned the pages with Jeremy. "How did we miss that there was another family living in secret?"

Jeremy shook his head, dark hair swaying with the movement. "I don't know. None of the older Pack members ever mentioned anything about it, but this book goes back a few centuries."

"It looks like the earliest 'birth' was actually a bitten male and female pair from the late fifteen hundreds, according to the first entry." She turned another page. "Rite of Passage Three: Death."

"What?"

"It says here 'In the event that a member of the family should die of either natural or unnatural circumstances, this Rite should be exercised. The remaining members of the family are to hold a three day prayer vigil in which no food or drink is consumed other than water as a tribute to the deceased. At the end of the third day, as the sun sets, a Funeral of Fire is to be held to light the way to the other side for the spirit of both man or woman and wolf as well as to hid evidence of our existence from those who would do us harm.'"

Jeremy read then reread the passage twice more to make sure they hadn't missed anything. "Interesting way of life this family led."

He closed his eyes, thoughtful for a moment, before looking at Elena. "Call Antonio and Nick in the morning and we will arrange for the kids to complete this for their Elder."

"Are you sure?" Rarely did Elena question his actions, but even more rare was the new information that they'd come into possession of in the last few hours.

"We shouldn't be underestimating their supposed innocence, but perhaps allowing them to dispose of their Elder in the way that they were raised to would lend a hand in gaining their trust." Elena nodded at the Alpha's reasoning. "For now, you and Clay go get some rest. I'm used to going a few days without, so I will keep watch over the twins and see if I can find any more information out of this book."

"If you're sure, then we'll head to bed." Jeremy nodded in response. Head bent, he was already lost in the new revelation the book offered.

Dawn broke over the horizon in a vast array of colors as Jeremy stood with coffee in hand staring out at the rising sun from his study window. His head was swimming as he recalled the Rites of Passage that were listed: Birth, Change, and Death. Hundreds of year's worth of names, places of births and deaths – not to mention the immense amount of Changes that were either successfully completed or not for both male _and_ female. It was almost more than he could contemplate handling.

What touched him most, though, was _how_ the family handled twin births and changes. Despite what Jeremy and the others felt was obviously dangerous, the family he'd read about in the hugely detailed book kept them _together_ as whichever underwent the Change first could find comfort and solace in the presence of their sibling!

Never in all his years alive, had he ever thought that the simplistic act of allowing an unchanged child near a Changeling would actually have a good effect. What stood out the most was that he and his Pack would have to perform the final part of the last Rite themselves if L'Elliot's sister was not well enough by the end of the third day.

He turned, expecting to see Clay behind him, but, he was not all that surprised to find the boy standing not a foot beyond the doorway. "Was there something you needed?"

"My sister's fever broke about an hour ago; her Change is a lot smoother than mine was." The teen replied.

Jeremy blinked. "I see," he sat down in the armchair closest to the fireplace and sipped his now warm coffee.

L'Elliot glanced around the room, his gaze landed on the book that lay open to the Third Rite of Passage for their Clan. "You read the book?"

Jeremy nodded silently. "Come in and have a seat." He said as he indicated the chair opposite to him. "I understand that there are several rules that you have to follow, is that right?"

"Yes, that's right." Came the reply as the teen took the chair across from Jeremy, "one rule that's strictly enforced is a Young One cannot enter any room where an Elder – or Alpha – is present without invitation."

"I saw that." Jeremy mused lightly.

As the sun peaked over the treetops, Jeremy and L'Elliot sat talking about everything that was either the same or different about their upbringing. They talked about what rules the twins would have to follow as opposed to the rules of engagement they were raised on and everything in between.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Nick and Tonio walked into the main hall at Stone Haven and were greeted by Clayton as he explained about the identity of the dead man down in the basement. Listening in rapt attention, they remained silent until they reached Jeremy's study.

"So, what you're saying is that there was another Pack of sorts living in complete and total secret right under our noses?" Nick asked incredulously as they filed into the study.

"You could say that."

Nick jumped slightly as a newcomer made himself known to the two men. "Holy crap!" Nick exclaimed as a boy rose from one of the arm chairs to greet them. "Jesus, Clay, warn a man next time you decide to give them a heart attack!"

"I didn't know he was in here." Clay said as he glanced at Jeremy who lay with his head tilted down in his favourite chair.

"Sorry, I never meant to startle anyone. Jeremy kind of fell asleep while we were talking and I didn't want to leave him unguarded or without his approval to leave the room," the teen said. "I'm L'Elliot Saint-Jean."

"I, uh, get that you're Jeremy's second-in-command?" He asked Clay as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

From behind him, Jeremy rose to his feet with a hard stretch and yawned. "Go to your sister, L'Elliot."

The teen turned, relief etched into his face as he smiled at the Alpha before taking his leave of the four men. On his way out the door, he was knocked to his back by a black growling mass of furry vengeance. A lungful of air left his body so quickly that his throat burned slightly as he forced a ragged breath back down into his diaphragm.

"Uh oh," he breathed as he tried to worm out from under the newly transformed she-wolf. "No one move! I got to get her out of here and into the forest!" He yelled as he wrestled with the angry creature.

Thinking fast, Tonio threw open the study window and stepped aside as L'Elliot finally wriggled out from under his sister and dove out to the grassy field below the open window. Within minutes, there was no sign of either sibling.

Elena ducked into the room, eyes wide as she realized that the boy and the wolf were no longer in custody. "She transformed this morning. I was passing by the room door when I heard her growling and pacing."

"Did she attack you?" Clay asked protectively.

"No, as soon as I opened the door she sniffed the air and bolted for the stairs."

Jeremy chuckled lightly. "She was mad at her brother and sought him out."

Antonio smiled. Nick started to laugh. Between the two of them, they managed to ask what was going on and were just as surprised as Jeremy had been when he showed them the book that was still sitting on his desk.

As Tonio leafed gently through the pages, a name suddenly stood out from all the others. "Hey, Jer, where's the books on our Pack and all the lone wolves?"

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"I just want to cross reference something." As Elena handed him the book, Tonio flipped to the page with only two names written on it. "Oh wow."

"What is it?" Nick asked absently.

"Does anyone know who our new Pack member's mother was?" They all knew that he was talking about Karl. The question on everyone's mind was the same.

Jeremy looked over to Antonio, curiosity written plainly on his features. "How does Karl fit into the equation?"

"Right here it says that the mother's mate was an "outsider". Back here-" he flipped to the front of the book "it says that 'Outsider is a term used to describe a person not born to nor adopted into the Clan.'"

"Adopted?" Nick and Clay piqued up at the same time.

Jeremy nodded. "It seems that anyone who was not strong enough to survive on their own or not considered to be beneficial to the Pack when Dominick led us was adopted by this Clan that existed right under our noses."

"And no one knew about this?"

"None of the older ones who came before us ever spoke of a secret or otherwise unknown wolf pack." Tonio clarified. "It appears that they despised violence and valued the lives of the children born to them above all else."

"Yes, that was my deduction about how they were raised too." Jeremy chimed in. He cleared his throat as they left the study and went to the kitchen for breakfast. "They pass down and adhere to a set of rules that are followed no matter what. They keep the children together and when twins are born if one Changes before the other they are kept in the same place to promote an easier Change. The only violence they allow, it seems, is when the kids are in wolf form – even then it's all play."

"I cross-referenced the two books again." Antonio said as he joined the others. "By the look of things, Karl's one of them. Then again, I'm sure that there may be others around the world that might just belong to that Clan."

Elena closed the fridge and straightened to grab some plates. "Which means what, exactly?"

Jeremy glanced out the window. Inwardly, he was worried about the two teens; outwardly he had to keep a level head for his Pack. "When I was reading the book last night, I came across a particular page where it detailed the fact that the Clan was being hunted by a small faction of people who either wanted to experiment on them or kill them off. The passage I found hinted at the fact that it may have been magic-wielders that started the hunt."

"That's not good." Nick said with a low whistle.

All the others shared the same sentiment. It was not in their favour if they couldn't convince the twins that their own Witch and Sorcerer friends were actually friendly and not out to kill or capture them.

"If the knowledge was passed from parent to pup, where do we stand?"

Jeremy cast a sidelong glance at his childhood friend and sighed. "At the boundary between calm and catastrophe, I would assume." He replied gravely.


	7. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER SEVEN**_

Her head swam with pain and her body felt as though she'd been tossed into the inferno of Hell's deepest pits as the Change took over. Her spirit fought ferociously as she silently screamed for release from this torture that she was certain would kill her before it was over. As the fire in her veins stopped and her mind calmed she mentally cried out for her brother, aching to have him near her in her darkest hour of need.

But he was nowhere near her.

She knew that he'd left the room. She'd felt the bed dip and bounce as his weight left the mattress. There was no mistaking the sound of his footsteps or the vibration of the air as the door opened and closed.

Slowly, anger replaced fear and pain in the forefront of her mind.

Then a new sensation went through her body as she convulsed uncontrollably. The distinct sound of bones contorting in different ways, the feel of her face changing into the elongated muzzle that was common for wolves – it was all so new…. And yet, it was familiar to her.

She forced herself to relax, to allow the mental and physical changes to happen to her body. She would deal with her absent twin later, she mused as her mind opened to let in the Change.

Soon enough, she was on all fours and staring out at the world in an array of greys, blues, blacks, reds, and whites. The spirit of the wolf had taken control of her body, but her mind was still her own.

She tested the movements of her body, relishing the smooth way her control over herself was at easy command. Swinging her head to and fro, she shook out her fur covered body from the tip of her damp nose to the fine red-black fur of her fluffed-up tail. Excited, she began to look around the room for anything with a reflective face.

Her searching gaze settled on a full-length mirror in the corner of the room. Just past the window and partially covered by the heavy drapery, it was easy to miss the long polished oval of silvered glass. In fact, had it not been for the reflection of the dresser that stood on the opposite wall, she might have missed it completely.

 _This is so not my room at the cabin._ She mused as she jumped up to the windowsill and put her front paws on the painted wooden surface. The view from her side of the double-paned glass window was breathtaking to say the least.

A huge expanse of grassy fields dotted with wildflowers met her curious eyes. Beyond, an equally impressive forest encircled the field like a welcoming barrier.

There were no fences. No barricades; nothing to hold them inside the grounds at all. Her mind relaxed as she realized that they were _inside_ the house where they had seen the strangers take their uncle. That, of course, could only mean that her brother had sought their help when she fell under the influence of the Change.

 _Safety_ , her mind whispered. A small measure of security, she realized as she dropped all four paws back to the floor. She nudged the curtain to one side and peered into the mirror at her reflection. Slightly startled at first, she fought a wolfish laugh at her own jumpiness.

Bright sky blue eyes that were ringed in pale green stared back at her. Turning her head this way and that, she examined her reflection for any abnormalities. Thankfully, there were none. Her Change was as complete and thorough as he brother's own had been.

Which brought her back to square one: finding a way to get her brother back for leaving her.

As she paced the room she let out a heavy breath and was surprised slightly when it came out as a growl. Satisfied, she growled again hoping that someone would hear her and open the door.

New smells assaulted her recently sharpened senses as she crouched, head turning left to right while she tried to see under the door. Footsteps drew closer to her and she waited patiently. As whomever it was passed, she let out an agitated growl.

Instead of passing the door to the room, the person on the other side opened the door. Standing where she'd hoped would be her brother was a woman. Tall, blonde and athletic, the woman stared down at her in a mix of shock and admiration. Slowly, she knelt down and reached out a hand to the girl-turned-wolf.

"You're safe here, Mana." The woman's voice was achingly familiar. The smells coming up the stairs ranged from the aroma of strong coffee, to the odour of burnt ashes, to a mixture of male cologne.

Mana paused as one scent in particular registered on her mind. _Damned idiot!_

Without so much as a passing glance at the woman, Mana bolted for the door and disappeared down the stairs.

Soon after she'd barrelled into her brother as he exited the room he was in, they were both in wolf form racing through the dense forest. He managed, through two added years of experience, to stay well ahead of her as they ran.

 _Damn, I'm going to have to go for trickery rather than speed._ She thought as she slowed to a trot. A sudden flash of gold to her left made her pull up hard and skid to a stop. _What the…_

A streak of dark brown, light brown, and black also stirred in the shadows to her right and left. As silent as a mouse, another bright golden wolf moved just outside of Mana's peripheral vision. She turned her head and was nearly nose to nose with the slightly smaller black wolf.

One of the brown wolves trotted over to her and bowed his head respectfully to the black wolf; A sign that told her that the black wolf was the Alpha of the pack. Slowly, Mana mimicked the movement, although slightly more awkwardly than the brown wolf had.

She tipped her nose to the air as the wind rushed gently through her fur. She allowed the building howl to escape her slightly parted muzzle.


End file.
